Yes, today is the last day of January. It seems like it only started yesterday. Like every year, I listened to the Vienna Philharmonic concert in that gilded hall, filled with flowers and Japanese tourists. It's a festive concert, waltzes, polkas, the kind of music that's part of the city's history. This year, the conductor was rather young and charming, and he conducted with a happy expression. I don't remember his name, please forgive me. I like to listen to the concert in a dressing gown and slippers with a good cup of hot coffee in my hand. I've been doing it for so many years that it's become a ritual, and I couldn't start the year without it. There are two must-hear pieces: On the beautiful blue Danube, by Johann Strauss Jr., and the Radetzky MarchFrom his father. In fact, the entire audience is waiting to clap along to his rhythm. It seems the lucky ones who attend are only there for that moment… Starting the year like this, by force, has to bring good luck. But a year is so long that many things can happen. While the concert of that orchestra that runs like clockwork—which, coincidentally, is sponsored by Rolex—lasts, I never think about how long the year is or anything that might happen.

February 8

Elections

2026 begins with rumblings of a possible snap election in Spain due to the various crises plaguing Pedro Sánchez's party. But while this remains unconfirmed, several regional elections are scheduled for this year, serving as a prelude to the struggle for the Spanish government. The People's Party (PP) will test its majority in Aragon—where it has been unable to form a coalition government with Vox and has called elections—on February 8, in Castile and León on March 15, and in Andalusia in June. These three dates are crucial for gauging the strength of the PSOE-PP battle for the central government, which could very well become another major election of the year.

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That 2026 will be a very dangerous year is something you hear everywhere you look, if you listen closely. And although we already know that pessimists are more likely to be right, it's very probable that this bad omen will come true, considering that it will soon be four years since we've had a war in Europe (sometimes we seem to forget: the war in Ukraine is a war at home), with the European Union reeling before Putin, who has tied his train to the conflict in what he called the transatlantic link.

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These days many will make New Year's resolutions. Some will try to go on a diet or join the gym, with the idea of going three times a week, which will end up being only once, if they are lucky. Others will try to make ends meet or perhaps save money, but inflation will eat up some of their good intentions. Many will think about focusing more on the important things and will turn to work or family, in the most difficult balance of the three-ring circus of life. Perhaps, for a few days, most of the well-intentioned will have more balanced lives before the force of inertia takes over. Those who manage to keep their aspirations above the force of routine and mediocrity will be our heroes. Congratulations and admiration to all those who manage to do things differently to those around them, who turn inertia into dust. It will be at the individual level where we can mark the playing field on which we are willing to play the game or, in other words, choose the circus ring where we are willing to hang the trapeze that is ours, whether we are journalists, electricians, teachers or financiers. Citizens, in short.

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